


A Dream of Peace

by ValkyrieofArdyn



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Happy Ending, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 06:30:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17462372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValkyrieofArdyn/pseuds/ValkyrieofArdyn
Summary: A different universe where Ardyn was not rejected wholly by the Crystal and Gods, nor the people. He was not alone and imprisoned all those long two thousand years.My contribution for the,To Our Dear Ardyn, Zine. Written prior any of the ep Ardyn DLC/anime trailer releases.





	A Dream of Peace

  “Daemon!”

 

  “Deceiver!”

 

  “False King!”

 

     Ardyn tries to outrun the curses. Pushing against people he once called friends, as they close in around him. Faces once familiar contorted in disgust and shame everywhere he looked.

     He attempts to speak, to yell, that they were wrong. He isn’t all those terrible things. It was a mistake...but there is no air in his lungs. There is nothing but his heart pounding out of his chest. Scrambling away from the hands dragging him down, down to the light.

    NO! He can’t go back to the light. They can’t see what is hiding inside. Again. They need to forget the black ichor churning beneath his skin. Oozing out of his mouth and eyes like the daemons he saved them from.

  Damn the light.

  Swiping wildly, Ardyn breaks free with a snarl, running for the looming darkness. In the shadows, they wouldn’t be able to see. It promises to hold his secret, saving him from the gallows.

_“Ardyn—”_

   Embracing him into its numbing expanse, the dark whispers burrow into his soul. Here he was not forsaken, but a cherished vessel. Unlimited power available to seek vengeance. Bringing the world, it’s own dark peace. For what good is it now? Having let him down after all he has done? Just let go, accept, and it will all be his.

     Eyes wide but unseeing in the black, Ardyn shakes his head. This isn’t the kind of peace he wants, but the darkness pulls him further down like an undertow. Swirling him around until he has no idea where to find the light. It may burn him, but it was better than the horrible future he saw. A world full of daemons that he alone resides in. For eternity…

_“Shhh, I am here. Ardyn I’m here.”_

   Warmth tingles across Ardyn's forehead. Turning away from the cold shadows he searches for more—there! Like a mid-morning mist, the receding darkness reveals a fuzzy silhouette. Further warmth cups his cheeks, dispelling the remaining black tendrils hold. Mind and eyes clear of the daemons within, Ardyn releases a shaky breath.

     That's right. The Scourge he houses isn’t in control, and not ALL forsook him. Hovering before his face is his savior. The only reason he didn’t give into darkness and despair after all these years. A guiding light that he never strays far from for sanity's sake.  

   “Are you back with me?”

   The question is whispered with a brush of fingers across Ardyn’s cheek. Closing his eyes, Ardyn leans into the caress. No nightmares of years past surface behind his eyelids this time. For overshadowing all else is your unconditional love and support.

  “I shall ever return at your beckoning dearest,” Ardyn mumbles, allowing the peace of your presence to sink all the way into his bones. “You never fail in pulling me out from the mire of daemons with that voice of yours.”

   Moving to lay beside him, you wrapped Ardyn in an embrace. Holding him close to your chest as you run your fingers along his scalp. Soothing the tension that always lingers whenever the scourge made an effort to take control. “I wasn’t so sure this time. You didn't answer for so long and the darkness...it knows the end is coming soon, doesn’t it?” you ask, placing a kiss on top of Ardyn’s tousled maroon hair.

     Even with a heavy heart, you smile. Noting the multiple wild strands that would be resistant to any sort of taming. An attempt you would have to make soon. Wouldn’t due for Ardyn to meet the last King of Lucis while looking like a vagabond.

     Sighing, Ardyn nestles further into you, tugging you close with both an arm and leg. Wrapped around you like a pretzel, Ardyn grumbles, “Yes it does. Ever since the Crystal declared that boy as the next Chosen, their presence has been pushing. Trying harder than ever before to take control.” Inhaling deeply, your scent as familiar as his own purges the darkness further. “But it never will as long as you continue to suffer my presence,” Ardyn said teasingly with a dusting of kisses on the exposed skin beneath his lips.

    “I have _‘suffered’_ it for so long now, I wouldn’t know what to do without it,” you chuckled. Nudging lightly with your shoulder, Ardyn obliges to lean back and look at you after a couple stolen kisses up your neck. “All the way to the end I’ll be by your side,” you said with sincerity, holding Ardyn’s gaze. A truth you both know, but one you know he appreciates hearing.    

   For long minutes you both lay entwined. Enjoying the simplicity of each others presence while the light penetrating through the blinds shifts from grey to gold. The still quite interrupted by only birds greeting the new day and the beat of your heart beneath Ardyn’s ear.

    Out of all the moments he has shared with you in immortality, these are his favorite. Endless quiet mornings where it was easy to forget the rest of the world. To believe that he was already in paradise, his cursed duty complete and allowed to actually rest in peace.

      With a silent prayer Ardyn thanks the divine for you, as he does every day. If the Astrals had left him to wander the world alone with his damned destiny (their mistake), he would not be as he is now. The bitter anger from being cast away like a mongrel by his brother and shunned by the people he saved would have consumed him. And then soon after the daemons would've had their fill...Instead, you, the one whose lifespan is connected to his, helped clear away that early hurt and resentment. Preventing any rotten roots forming in his heart. Leaving Ardyn content to wait for the next chosen who would free Eos from the Scourge he held in check as much as possible.

    That wait is almost over now. An alarming but also relieving thought. You both had talked about the end many times through the centuries and made your peace long before Prince Noctis took his first breath. There was no fear, but anticipation for what awaited you both in the realm where immortality wouldn’t feel like a burden.

   Hugging you closer, the call of peaceful dreams is too alluring for Ardyn to resist. Snuggling down, he decides to nap away the morning. Or tries to.

     Just as a pleasant daydream begins, you shift out from underneath Ardyn. Leaving him in dazed confusion and a little miffed that your form was not beside him anymore. “Where are you going dear?” Ardyn asks in the low sultry tone he knows to be your weakness. It was his best chance to coax you back to his side. Nothing good comes from you getting out of bed before him.  

     “Well, I figure we might as well go for a jog since we’re up so early. Giving us time to feed the chocobos and have breakfast before leaving,” you said distractedly while, to Ardyn’s disappointment, cover up with clothes not suitable for relaxing. It was indeed worse than he expected, his siren call had no effect.

      Dramatically Ardyn smashed his face into his pillow with a heartfelt moan. “Why do you subject me to such cruel humanity?”

    Although muffled by down feathers, Ardyn’s whine was not lessened in the least. In all the years Ardyn has never gotten over his love for lazing away the morning in bed, and you just shake your head in amusement. Why would he stop now?

     “Exercise is a good practice, and it’s what has kept you from becoming a stiff immortal,” you chided, making sure Ardyn had a clear view of your ornery expression. “Also, it will be good to be limber before meeting King Noctis. He may want to challenge your claim of being his relation.”

         “Hmph,” Ardyn snorted but tossed away the covers and rolled out of bed. There was no way he was going to win this battle today. There was a chance Noctis would need proof of who he was since he has kept to the shadows from the time of his exile. Avoiding his family and the Crystal...but being forgotten has been quite helpful in hiding his immortality. “I can never argue with your sound logic,” Ardyn sighed in teasing defeat as he took the clothes you held out for him. “But I do hope Noctis challenges me. Would be boring otherwise.”

         With an appealing smile, you pat Ardyn on the shoulder and deftly avoid his grabbing hands that would definitely slow down your morning momentum. “Oh Ardyn, no situation is ever boring when you're involved,” you chuckled over your shoulder. Leaving your immortal partner grumbling as he got dressed.  

* * *

 

 

     As predicted the meeting with King Noctis Lucis Caelum wasn’t boring at all, but that really had nothing to do with Ardyn. There was no magnificent show of magic or exposition of words to declare himself as  _the_ Accursed. Noctis greeted him as such. Of course not in any rude manner, but he made it clear that he not only knew who Ardyn was but had also been waiting for him, the man beneath the title. His “covert” continuation in removing the scourge and taming the daemons through the ages had not gone unnoticed...or it had, until the very inquisitive and smart advisor to the Chosen King decided to unearth just exactly what “darkness” was to be defeated.

    After the initial disbelief, Ardyn couldn’t help but feel a little dissatisfied with the turn of events. His (and yours) grand entrance and exit, expected for thousands of years, was simplified to an intellectual discussion over tea. The King and his Oracle (Lady Lunafreya not so coincidentally being present in the Crown City) explaining how they found a way to purge the darkness without the cost of life. Fulfilling the asked for blood price in a metaphorical fashion. To say the least, this generation's ingenuity was impressive.

      It didn’t take long for Ardyn to realize you had a hand in the setup. That coy smirk of yours telling him all he needed to know. Really, you never stopped looking out for him. Always hoping he would be recognized for his works and treated fairly. And it appears, at the supposed end, your wishes were being granted. The one who was meant to destroy Ardyn (the Scourges host) was not only offering a continuation of life but also freedom from divinity. Peace. Able to grow old and pass away as a natural creature of Eos.

        Such warmth radiated throughout Ardyn’s body after leaving the Citadel. (The meeting ending with the agreement to meet the next day and discuss when to put the plan into motion. Noctis still needing to acquire covenants with the Astrals and Ascend) Hand in hand with you, Ardyn’s mind began to imagine things he hadn’t allowed himself to before. Staying in one place longer than ten years and setting down roots. Continuing to expand the black Chocobo sanctuary yourselves. Children...Oh yes. Ardyn’s heart felt ready to burst from his chest. The journey into the beyond would have to wait several more decades for you two. There was so much to be done and experience once time began again.

       Seeing Ardyn in joyful bliss and sharing in it, you squeeze his hand. The curses burden already seeming to be lifted from his shoulders, the recent tightness around his eyes lessened. It took a while for the Chosen to arrive, but you would’ve waited a thousand years more to get the same ending. Returning his blinding smile with your own, you ask a question you know the answer to. “Are you happy with this ending?”

        “More than you can ever know,” Ardyn answers earnestly, amber eyes twinkling in the sun. With a squeeze of your hand he adds, “but then again, I suppose you do.”   

        

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and please check out many of the other great works in the Zine :)
> 
>  
> 
> [To Our Dear Ardyn Zine Download](http://ryuuza-art.tumblr.com/post/182010639836/to-our-dear-ardyn-is-now-available-we-all-hope)


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